Attachment for bookcases.



G. STOCKER.

ATTACHMENT FOR BOOKCASES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 1,1917.

1,260,989. Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

TNVENTOR ATTORNEY GEORGE STOCKER, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

ATTACHMENT FOR BOOKCASES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed July 7, 1917. Serial No. 179,206.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE STocKnR, a

citizen of the .United States, residing at' Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Attachments for Bookcases, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to shelf attachments for book cases, and is adapted primarily to provide means whereby heavy and cumbersome books of a size too large for the compartments of the ordinary book case, may be accommodated within the bookcase in such manner as to minimize space therein, and which enables the books supported thereby to be quickly and easily withdrawn from the book case when needed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a book supporting shelf for use in connection with book cases, which is capable of being readily moved into or out of the book case, and which constitutes an efficient support for holding voluminous works, such as the Bible, dictionary, etc.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a shelf for the accommodation of books'which properly supports the books when the shelf is moved into the book case, and which disposes the books when the shelf is moved outwardly in a position most convenient to the reader or user thereof.

Still further objects of the invention reside in providing a shelf for book cases which may be applied to the'case when the latter is manufactured, or which may be attached to book cases now in use, which is of extremely simple and inexpensive construction and which is of light weight and yet thoroughly durable, which has its supporting arms so constructed and assembled with the structure as to minimize the opportunity for wear, breakage or derangement, which occupies but comparatively little space within the book case. and which will prove thoroughly practical and el'ficient in use.

\Vith these objects in view together with others which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the novel formation, combinationand arrangement of parts, all as will be described more fully hereinafter, illustrated in the drawing and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a front elevation of a conventional form of book case, to which a movable shelf constructed in accordance with the invention is applied, parts of the book case being broken away to show the manner of application of the shelf thereto,

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on a slightly enlarged scale, taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, and illustrating the shelf moved to operative position, and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the shelf inverted.

The shelf of my invention is adapted to more horizontally, or substantially so, into and out of the book case, and this shelf supports the books in a position most convenient to be opened and used by a reader. When the shelf has been moved inwardly, all of the parts thereof are confined or lie within the limits of the book case, so that there will be no protruding parts to interfere with the closing of the doors for the book case, or to interfere with the insertion of books in other parts of the case, or the withdrawal of books therefrom. When moved outwardly to its limit, the shelf inclines downwardly, so that the book supported thereby will be disposed at an angle convenient for the user. An improved means is employed for locking the shelf when the latter has been moved outwardly, and the invention is also characterized by means for evenly distributing the weight of the books to various parts of the shelf and to the supporting elements for the latter.

Referring now particularly to the drawing, 5 indicates generally a conventional form of book case, equipped with the hinged doors 6 as shown. This case is provided with the usual number of horizontally arranged shelves 7 for'the accommodation of books.

Arranged in the same horizontal plane upon the inner surfaces of the vertical side walls of the book case are track members 8, the said track members being horizontalh disposed, and being provided for the purpose of supporting the slidable shelf 9. These tracks may be formed of any suitable material, it being preferred, however, that they be made of relatively thin, light and yet durable metal. The tracks extendfrom the front edges of the vertical walls to the rear or back of the book cabinet, and are bent downwardly adjacent their rear ends as Patented Mar. 19, 1918.

fitsnugly between the said walls, and this shelfrest's at its ends upon the tracks 8, as shown! The main leaf of the shelf 9- is of. a depth equal to that of the book case, and is provided at its forward edge with an upwardly-extending rib 10, the said 'rib being adapted to prevent the books supported by the shelf from sliding" forwardly when the leaf is extended.

7 pair of narrowleaves indicated'at 12'aiid 13,

respectively,- the'said leaves being hinged together at their adjacent edges as'at l t, and onebfthe said leaves is hinged as at 15to the main leaf 9; The hinges 14 and 15 are applied to the leaves of the shelf uponthe undersurface thereof, so as to be capable of swinging downwardly below the main leaf- 9- when theshelf'isnioved into the book case.

It will "be observed'that the forward longitudinal edgeof the leaf 12and the rear edge of the leaf 9'are "beveled in such manner that the leaves will beheld inthe same plane when the shelf ismove'd outwardly. The combined width or depth of the sections 12 and 13" is equal to the distance between the horizontal track portion 8 and the stop member 10-formed-at the rear-"end of the track, so that when the shelf is moved inwardly, these sections will move downwardly until the rear'edge of thes'ection 13 will rest upon the stop portion 10 of the track When in thisposition, it is obvious that the weight upon the shelf leaf'9 will be distributed not only to the horizontal portions of the track 8; but also to the stop memberor horizontal portion 10 at the rear end ofthe track;

The. shelf leaf 9 is supported in outward position-byarins 15"pivoted asat 16 to the inner surfaces of the vertical walls of the bookcase adjacent the forward edges thereof These arms'are formed of thin metal and'areconne'cted with the walls ofthe book cabinet below the movable shelf. Each'of the arms is provided adjacent its outer end with a longitudinally disposed slot 16, and

this slot communicates at its outer end with ashort angularly' disposed slot 17. The slot 17 is so arranged in each arm that when the latter arev swung to the limit of their outward movement, thesaid short slots 17 will be disposed vertically, and to limit the outward swinging movement of the said arms; the latter are cut awayas at' 18nd jacent tlieir'pivotslti, the said cut away portion providing-stops which engage the horizontally disposed-surfacesof the angle plates 19 secured" upon the innerfacesof the vertical side walls of the bookcase;

The shelf also includes a The ends of the leaf! 9 adjacent the forward edges thereof are cut away as at 21,

will be entirely accommodated within the book case, the hinged leaves 12 and 13 being disposed vertically as shown in Fig 21 of the drawing; Thearnl slfi' arelalso'dis posedin' vertical position, and when 80 15081 tione'd are wholly confined within the book case and lie close" to the" vertical end walls thereof. When it is desired to extend the shelf, the latter may be pulled outwardly, whereupon the same slides alongithe track' way moving with it'the arms 15. When the outward-swinging movement of the arms 15 is limited by the stop surfacesls, the pins'22 in the ends of the 1eaf 9will-:be dis-- posed at the juncture of the longitudinal and angular slots 16"17; and the outer end of the' shelf when releaseclwvillpmove downwardly until limited" against: furthermovement by the engagement ofthe pins 22 in the bottoms of the angular slots 17-. This swinging movement of the-leaf'9 is permitted by the hinges 1 lwliichconnect the leaf bookwill be evenly horne -by thearms15 at the ends of theshelf, and bythe forward edges of the tracks; When it is desired to move thebook into the case, the shelf 9 is lifted'slightly, whereuponthe pins 22'move upwardly in the angularslots 17, and rearward sliding movement of the shelf' will cause thelatter to' travel rearwardly upon the tracks 8; this rearwardsliding movement of the shelf causing the arms-15f to rockinwardly upon-their pivots 1 6 lVhen the shelf has been inoved to the limit of its inward travel, the end leaves 12 and 13 will have assumed vertical'position, as-shown in Fig; 2, whereupon the'weight of the book upon the shelf will be partially distributed to the horizontal stopmember 10.

' It is apparent-that'l'have provideda mow able shelf for application to book cases which isof extremely" simple construction; which is ea-sy and simple ofoperation, and which willgprove thoroughly efficient and practical in the attainment 'o'f'th'e ends for which it is A designed; and while-the present is adisclosure of the preferred embodiment i of the inventionit' isobvious thatvarions changes inthe minor de-tailstof construction and arrangement ofpart'sm'a'y be'r'esorted to' if' desired" without departing-- fromthe spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a book case, a shelf slidable longitudinally into and out of the case, an arm pivoted at one end to said case, means for limiting the outward swinging movement of said arm, the saidarm having a longitudinally disposed slot, the said slot being extended angularly at its outer end, and a pin in the outer end of said shelf engaged in said slot and being adapted to rest within said angular portion when said arm is moved to its outward limit.

2. In combination with a case, a shelf slidable longitudinally into and out of the case, an arm pivoted at one end to said case, the said arm having a longitudinally disposed slot, the outer end of said arm having a laterally extending slot communicating at one end with said longitudinal slot, and a pin in the outer end of said shelf engaged in said slot.

3. In combination with a case, a shelf slidable horizontally into and out of the case, an arm pivoted at one end beneath said shelf and having a longitudinal slot, a pin in one edge of said shelf at the forward end thereof and engaged in said slot, the said arm being provided adjacent its outer end with an angular slot closed at one end and in communication at its opposite end with one end of said longitudinal slot, and means for arresting the outward swinging move ment of said arm when said angular slot is disposed vertically.

i. In combination with a case, a track in said case, a shelf slidably mounted on said track, a hinged leaf on the inner end of said shelf, an arm pivoted beneath said shelf and being engaged at its outer end with the forward edge of said shelf, and means limiting the outward swinging movement of said arm when the hinges of said leaf have reached the forward edges of said case. I

In combination with a book case, trackways arranged horizontally within said book case, a shelf supported at its edges upon said trackway and capable of moving into and out of said case, a pair of arms pivoted at their lower ends to said case beneath said shelf, the free ends of said arms extending adjacent the forward edges of said shelf, the said arms being provided with longitudinal slots, pins projecting outwardly from said shelf and engaged in said slot, the said arms having angular slots adjacent their outer ends communicating with the longitudinal slots, means for limiting the outward movement of said arms when said angular slots are disposed vertically, a pair of leaves hinged to the inner portion of said shelf, a stop within said case adjacent the back thereof, the said stop being disposed below said trackways a distance equal to the combined widths of said leaves, and the said shelf being equal in width to the depth of said case.

6. In combination with a cabinet, a track in said cabinet, a stop portion in said cabinet at the rear end of and below said track, a shelf slidable upon said track, and a leaf hinged to the rear end of said shelf and adapted to swing downwardly and to rest upon said stop portion and to support the rear end of said shelf when the latter has moved to the limit of its inward movement.

'7. In combination with a cabinet, a track in said cabinet, the said track being curved downwardly and extended rearwardly at the rear end of said cabinet, a shelf slidably mounted upon said track, a pair of leaves hingedly connected together, one of said leaves being pivoted to the rear end of said shelf, the combined widths of said leaves being equal to the distance between said track and said rearwardly extended portion, the said leaves being adapted during the inward movement of the shelf to swing downwardly at right angles to said shelf and to supportthe rear end of said shelf.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE STOCKER.

Witnesses:

THOS. SCHNEIDER, I. M. GERST.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

